Tuesday, September 23, 2008

My rant about Levi's

I just finished writing to Levi Strauss & Co., complaining about the fact that they have changed the design of the classic 505 straight leg jean. The contents of my email follows:

I have a complaint. I went to your store in Evanston, IL and bought two pairs of "regular fit 505" jeans. I brought them home an had a shock when I tried them on. They were huge. I wear 34-32. I laid my old jeans over them and the leg is 1-1/2" wider! And the ass is huge. Why in the world do you call these 505? This is completely misleading. Not knowing I got these, my wife happened to simultaneously by me a pair of Costco jeans. 34-32 relaxed fit. I compared those to the new 505's and they were narrower. The Levi's are a huge disappointment. I returned them. I guess I have no choice but to stick with the Costco jeans, which is unbelievable. BTW, the guy at the store showed me all sorts of other Levi jeans, but they are nothing like the old 505 jeans. Most of them are pre-worn/intentionally damaged. Only a loser would wear those. I urge your to give these new 505 jeans a different number. They are anything but 505's.

Yes, I realize Levi Strauss Co. isn't going to do a thing about it. But I am. I am getting this off my chest. And I think I'm going to be wearing Costco's relaxed fit jeans whenever I'm not wearing my 15 year old Levi's. Perhaps I'll have the Costco model embroidered "Not Levi's."

A - note the seam location on the old jeans vs. the new ones. Entirely different cut.

B - note the location of the rear and front pockets on the old jeans vs. the new.

C - room in the ass for a loaf of bread!

D - the new jeans are 1-1/2" inches wider than my old 505's. They call these "regular fit." Costco calls their jeans "relaxed fit" even though they are narrower than the new Levi's.

The label on my old jeans

Label of the new 505's.

The labels are virtually identical. Too bad the jeans aren't! What a sham.

p.s. did I mention that the 505's cost $49.50. The Costo house brand jean ("Kirkland") cost $14.

9 Comments:

Because our products are hand cut and hand sewn, there is a slight variance from pair to pair (+/- 1/2"). For example, a pair of pants/jeans labeled 30" in the inseam can measure anywhere from 291/2" to 301/2" and still be within our tolerance specifications.

We as well guarantee our products against manufacturing and material defects (aside from normal wear and tear).

Please feel free to contact us again if we can be of further assistance. Just email us back, or call us at 1-800-USA-LEVI. We're available Monday - Friday, 6:00am - 4:30pm Pacific Time.

John,the ugly truth (one of them) is that AMERICAN bums are getting LARGER. And in order not to make large people feel bad about this, clothing manufacturers are 'easing' the fit. Jens wears a 30 waist/36 length - unfortunately he can only buy the reverse of this (36 waist/30 leg - I know, horrifying)in stores. Which means if you are normal, you find yourself somehow buying a logic defying xxxxs. He could cut his legs off, I guess.And I say it's a great shame to hide a well shaped bum in baggy pants.Mary Rose

Fashion changes. 15 years is a long time to expect Levis to maintain the same dimensions for different styles. Think about the differences in men's fashion over the last 15 years. Plus many fashion companies are increase their sizing dimension to create vanity sizing; making the customer feel smaller than what they really are. Fashion companies must adapt or die. Go the next size down.

To the anonymous who called me a dummy: The two jeans are cut entirely differently. That's how they fold them in the store, stupid.

To the anonymous who posted "Fashion Changes," I fully recognize this. All I am saying is that if the manufacturer changes the style (i.e. the cut), they should change the designation "505" to something different. Maybe 505.1, 505.2, etc.

No John, doesn't matter how they fold in the store, you can fold both jeans the same way. That way we can compare apples to apples. Try folding your old jeans the same way as the new jeans and maybe lay them on top of each other. Maybe they are different. You spent some time on your presentation but we just can't tell by the pictures.